Make sure the Save AutoRecover information every x minutes box is selected.

In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, make sure the Keep the last autorecovered version if I close without saving box is selected.

Important: If you're not using AutoSave or if your file is not stored on OneDrive or SharePoint, the Save button is still your best friend. To be sure you don’t lose your latest work, click Save
(or press Ctrl+S) often.

Accessing the AutoRecover settings is slightly different in each Office 2007 program. Choose a program below for specific instructions.

Tip

The amount of new information that the recovered file contains depends on how frequently a Microsoft Office program saves the recovery file. For example, if the recovery file is saved only every 15 minutes, your recovered file won't contain your last 14 minutes of work before the power failure or other problem occurred. To be extra safe, enter a small number in the minutes box, like 5 or 10. That way, you’ll never lose more than 5 or 10 minutes of work.

On the other hand, if you want to make Office slightly faster, try entering a larger number in the minutes box, like 20.

Learn more

AutoRecover saves more than your files. It also saves your workspace (if it can). Suppose you open several spreadsheets in Excel and the power goes out. When you restart Excel, AutoRecover tries to open your spreadsheets again, laid out the way they were before, with the same cells selected.